Lysosomal enzyme activities showed a tendency to increase in the heart and kidney and to decrease in the muscle and spleen. The De Ritis ratio, which is a biomarker of hepatotoxicity, was higher in the heart from animals fed the PLD. The palm oil addition to the lard-supplemented diet-induced prominent oxidative stress, particularly in myocardial tissue with involvement of the authophagy-lysosome pathway.Astrocytes are key players in CNS neuroinflammation and neuroregeneration that may help or hinder recovery, depending on the context of the injury. Although pro-inflammatory factors that promote astrocyte-mediated neurotoxicity have been shown to be secreted by reactive microglia, anti-inflammatory factors that suppress astrocyte activation are not well-characterized. Olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs), glial cells that wrap axons of olfactory sensory neurons, have been shown to moderate astrocyte reactivity, creating an environment conducive to regeneration. Similarly, astrocytes cultured in medium conditioned by cultured OECs (OEC-CM) show reduced nuclear translocation of nuclear factor kappa-B (NFκB), a pro-inflammatory protein that induces neurotoxic reactivity in astrocytes. In this study, we screened primary and immortalized OEC lines to identify these factors and discovered that Alpha B-crystallin (CryAB), an anti-inflammatory protein, is secreted by OECs via exosomes, coordinating an intercellular immune response. Our results showed that (a) OEC exosomes block nuclear NFκB translocation in astrocytes while exosomes from CryAB-null OECs could not; (b) OEC exosomes could be taken up by astrocytes, and (c) CryAB treatment suppressed neurotoxicity-associated astrocyte transcripts. Our results indicate CryAB, as well as other factors secreted by OECs, are potential agents that can ameliorate, or even reverse, the growth-inhibitory environment created by neurotoxic reactive astrocytes following CNS injuries.

Children with special education needs (SEN) require additional supports in education settings, as well as extra supports in healthcare services.

To investigate dental visit experience and dental care barriers among Hong Kong preschoolers with SEN.

This was designed as a cross-sectional study. A structured questionnaire was employed to investigate dental attendance and dental care barriers among Hong Kong preschoolers with SEN. Binary logistic regression and multi-factor ANOVA were performed to identify factors associated with children’s dental visit experience.

A total of 383 children were included in the final analysis. The average age of the recruited children was 3.87±0.95 years. 72.5% parents reported that dental visits were a challenging task for their children. Among children with caries, 70.7% had never visited a dentist. Regression models indicated that (a) children over 3years or children whose parents received tertiary education were more likely to visit a dentist; (b) the existence of dental care barriers was associated with children’s primary diagnosis, practical skills, conceptual skills, and parents’ education attainment; and (c) children with low conceptual skills (95%CI0.71 to 2.40, P<.001), or children from low-income families (95%CI1.21 to -0.06, P=.031) had more dental care barriers than their counterparts.

Unmet dental treatment needs and dental care barriers existed among pre-schoolers with SEN. Dental care barriers were associated with children’s developmental profile, parents’ education attainment, and household income.

Unmet dental treatment needs and dental care barriers existed among pre-schoolers with SEN. Dental care barriers were associated with children’s developmental profile, parents’ education attainment, and household income.

Dietary counselling provided by a dietitian, with or without oral nutritional supplements, can impact on nutritional and clinical outcomes in head and neck cancer (HNC) patients undergoing radiotherapy. However, little is known about the role of adherence to oral nutritional interventions in this population. This review aimed to map the literature for evidence of adherence to oral nutritional interventions in HNC patients undergoing radiotherapy and to identify gaps in knowledge in this field.

A scoping review methodology was used to identify studies, extract data, and collate and summarise results. We searched Medline, Embase, Cochrane Central and CINAHL, from the earliest available time up to 8 January 2020.

In total, 2315 unique articles were identified, 163 studies were assessed in full and niner were included in the scoping review. The use of different measures to assess adherence and variability in the timing of the assessments was noted across studies. Despite identifying studies that have measured adherence to oral nutritional interventions, very few studies monitored its influence on clinical and nutritional outcomes in HNC patients or reported factors related to adherence.

A robust evidence base is lacking for adherence to oral nutritional intervention in HNC patients. Overall, further studies evaluating the impact of oral nutritional interventions in HNC patients undergoing radiotherapy should measure adherence to the intervention. Rigosertib order Early recognition of non-adherence and the contributing factors could ensure intensification of nutritional support and better health outcomes.

A robust evidence base is lacking for adherence to oral nutritional intervention in HNC patients. Overall, further studies evaluating the impact of oral nutritional interventions in HNC patients undergoing radiotherapy should measure adherence to the intervention. Early recognition of non-adherence and the contributing factors could ensure intensification of nutritional support and better health outcomes.

Genetic stratification of Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients facilitates gene-tailored research studies and clinical trials. The objective of this study was to describe the design of and the initial data from the Rostock International Parkinson’s Disease (ROPAD) study, an epidemiological observational study aiming to genetically characterize ~10,000 participants.

Recruitment criteria included (1) clinical diagnosis of PD, (2) relative of participant with a reportable LRRK2 variant, or (3) North African Berber or Ashkenazi Jew. DNA analysis involved up to 3 successive steps (1) variant (LRRK2) and gene (GBA) screening, (2) panel sequencing of 68 PD-linked genes, and (3) genome sequencing.

Initial data based on the first 1360 participants indicated that the ROPAD enrollment strategy revealed a genetic diagnostic yield of ~14% among a PD cohort from tertiary referral centers.

The ROPAD screening protocol is feasible for high-throughput genetic characterization of PD participants and subsequent prioritization for gene-focused research efforts and clinical trials.